From emergency-response times and crime stats to jobs numbers, vacancy rates and graffiti reports, scores of U.S. cities are collecting heaps of data virtually around the clock.

Far fewer are actually making use of that data.

Mesa appears to be one of the cities putting its data to work: Last year, the federal government announced it would give the city's Fire and Medical Department $12.5 million to expand a data-driven pilot program that more efficiently tackles low-level medical calls.

Two months ago, the city was among the first eight in the country admitted to Bloomberg Philanthropies' "What Works Cities," a $42 million initiative aimed at elevating the work of municipalities that "rely on data and evidence to deliver better results."

And now, the city is working to determine how it can build on that foundation using the prestigious advisers and analysis Bloomberg will provide over the next three years.

"It gives us access to tens of millions of dollars of resources and experts at some of the best institutions in the country," Mayor John Giles said, including Johns Hopkins University's Center for Government Excellence and the Sunlight Foundation.

So far, Mesa has laid out three broad strategic goals: creating a vibrant downtown, reducing blight citywide and boosting residents' prosperity via education and jobs. City officials said it will be some time until they can provide specific examples of possible applications in those areas.

The non-partisan, non-profit Sunlight Foundation will help Mesa create an open-data portal for residents and employees to weigh in on what is needed most.

"The Bloomberg model is — at least based on the conversations we've been in — it's not just the government telling everyone what the standard is," City Manager Chris Brady said. "It's sharing that information or that data and then really involving the community to establish ... what is it they are looking for."

Data success stories in other Bloomberg-backed cities include Louisville, Ky.'s effort to identify and target sources of air pollution by attaching GPS trackers to asthma inhalers; Kansas City, Mo.'s use of citizen-survey data to increase overall satisfaction with the city's image by 20 percent; and New Orleans' elimination of about 10,000 dilapidated residences.